Learners with special needs and those who have experienced failure in traditional classrooms often thrive when learning tasks are presented in new and motivating contexts. This workshop focuses on five goals for turning school failure around by helping students to:

• develop skills and knowledge necessary for success.
• develop intrinsic motivation.
• become problem solvers.
• become lifelong learners.
• achieve their personal potential.

Workshop activities are designed around ten principles for attaining these educational goals. Participants receive a packet of learning tools that are readily adaptable to a wide range of ability levels. Packets also include information about locating additional resources to meet special learning needs.

Objectives
On successful completion of the workshop, participants will:

• become familiar with activities, techniques, and strategies specifically designed to provide at-risk students with the support they need to succeed
• learn to design and modify large group, small group, partner, and individual activities to maximize effectiveness for individual learning needs.
• learn how to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies they use with at-risk students

Outline
Day 1:

• Breaking the cycle of failure
  • What causes a cycle of failure for students?
  • What are the consequences of a cycle of failure?
  • Breaking out of the failure pattern
  • Establishing conditions for continued success
• Setting realistic goals
  • Goal #1: Help students develop the knowledge and skills necessary for success.
  • Goal #2: Help students foster intrinsic, rather than extrinsic motivation.
  • Goal #3: Help students to become problem-solvers.
  • Goal #4: Help students to become lifelong learners.
  • Goal #5: Help students to achieve their potential.
• Ten principles of successful intervention programs
  • Principle #1:   Students learn when they are valued and respected by significant people in their learning environment.
  • Principle #2:   Students learn when their basic human needs are met.
  • Principle #3:   Students learn when they are actively engaged in the learning process.
  • Principle #4:   Students learn when they assume responsibility for their own learning
  • Principle #5:   Students learn when they become aware of their own learning processes and goals.
  • Principle #6:   Students learn when they are presented with activities that are appropriate to their personal maturity, capabilities, and modalities.
  • Principle #7:   Students learn when they are presented with personally meaningful learning experiences.
  • Principle #8:   Students learn when they are presented with activities they find enjoyable.
  • Principle #9:   Students learn when they participate in evaluating their own learning.
  • Principle #10:   Students learn when they are immersed in a rich and stimulating learning environment from which they can extract patterns and structures.

Day 2:

• Goal-oriented activities incorporating the ten principles
  • Activities that build self-worth and mutual respect
  • Activities that satisfy basic human needs
  • Activities that promote active learning
  • Activities that encourage responsibility and accountability
  • Activities that foster metacognition and intrinsic motivation
  • Selecting and modifying activities to accommodate student learning styles, maturity levels, and capabilities
  • Selecting and developing activities that are personally meaningful for all students
  • Selecting and developing activities that encourage student enjoyment and build motivation
  • Activities that encourage students to self-assess and self-evaluate
  • Managing a classroom that stimulates students to develop higher-level thinking skills
• Authentic Methods of Assessment and Evaluation
  • Partnering with students in assessment and evaluation
  • Linking assessment and evaluation with learning goals
  • Using assessment and evaluation to improve teaching and learning

Trainer’s Profile
A graduate of Boston University, West Virginia University, and Ohio University, Dr. Gifford began her 30-years teaching career as a music educator in the public schools of Wellesley, Massachusetts, Half Moon Bay, California, and South Orange, New Jersey.  A passion for the improvement of early literacy led Dr. Gifford to supplement her Music Education degree with a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education.  Throughout a tenure of several years as a first grade and special education teacher for Appalachian children in Wirt County, West Virginia, Dr. Gifford energized her classroom by composing and adapting music, writing computer programs, and integrating multi-media.  She realized that a classroom environment which capitalized on children’s normal inclinations to sing, to move, and to play would stimulate active learning by making the process both natural and enjoyable.  Over time, Dr. Gifford’s songs and activities for teaching kids phonics became a regular part of reading instruction lesson plans for both average and remedial students.

Dr. Gifford began an intense study of children’s writing development, culminating in a Ph.D. in Reading and Language Arts in 1994.  Her research on invented spelling was chosen for special recognition by the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Committee of the International Reading Association.  In conducting her doctoral studies, Dr. Gifford collected and analyzed over five thousand journal entries written by children who were just beginning to read and write.

In 1995, Dr. Gifford began working with classroom teachers and pre-service teachers as an education faculty member at Ohio University and Wright State University.  Dr. Gifford developed workshops for educators involving technology in the classroom, tools for teaching phonics, spelling games and challenges, improving reading comprehension, and challenging at-risk students.  In addition to presentations at conventions for the National Council of Teachers of English and state Language Arts and Early Childhood organizations, Dr. Gifford became a technology consultant for the Coldwater, Ohio public schools.  Dr. Gifford engaged in an extensive research project for the Ohio Department of Education to evaluate the success of a statewide Phonics Demonstration Project.

Dr. Gifford’s recent work focuses on educators, volunteers, and community members who work with at-risk students. In addition to serving on the Board of Trustees for the Miami Valley Child Development Centers, Dr. Gifford has developed A Blueprint for Reading Success (Gifford, 1999) and A Blueprint for Math Success (Gifford, Cochran, and Herrelko, 2000), two comprehensive and easy-to-manage tutoring programs for reading and math improvement.  St. Louis, Missouri participants report enthusiasm for this exciting program in community centers, latchkey programs, and schools.  Dr. Gifford continues to develop curricula for computer-assisted learning, educational games, and distance learning.  She has conducted online courses on the Internet for Wright State University since 1993.

Methodology
This is an interactive workshop where participants engage in stimulating learning activities prior to using them with students. Games, challenges, songs, and raps are just a few of the varied instructional formats.

Target Audience
Elementary and Middle School classroom teachers, special educators, administrators, tutors, parents, and others who wish to provide young learners with alternatives to traditional classroom instruction.

Investment
SGD750.00/pax
SGD650.00/pax if register by 1 Dec 15

Duration: 2 days, 12 hours
Closing Date: 1 Feb 16